The Dying Clans, Book 1: The Journey
by Stormy Ships Jisbon
Summary: Six cats, two from each Clan, are chosen to go on a journey to find a new home for their Clans, who are rapidly dying. Along the way, they face hunger, hardships, and also learn some dark secrets about the past. Rated T for death, violence, and blood later on. Please read and review! :D (Cover will be updated, don't worry.)
1. Allegiances and Prologue

**Hello, and welcome to The Dying Clans, Book 1: The Journey! I worked hard on this first chapter, so please read it! :) **

**A few things though. This story is set in the real Clans' home, the lake territory. BlazeClan is in ShadowClan's territory, MarshClan is in RiverClan's territory, and LeafClan is in ThunderClan's territory. Also, the Clans are supposed to be extremely small. Why? You'll have to read the story to find out! c:**

BlazeClan

**Leader:** Flamestar- ginger tom with amber eyes [4 lives]

**Deputy:** Thornpelt- black-and-white tom with a white tail tip, a white muzzle, and yellow eyes

**Medicine** **Cat:** Brightcloud- golden she-cat with white patches and amber eyes [Addertail's sister]

**Warriors**

Addertail- golden brown tom with green eyes [Brightcloud's brother]

Bramblestripe- brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes [Cedarsky's sister]

**Apprentice, Icepaw**

Cedarsky- brown tom with pale blue eyes [Brambletail's brother]

Blackwhisker- black tom with blue eyes [Mistyfur's mate, Icepaw's father, and Beetleclaw's brother]

Beetleclaw- small black she-cat [Blackwhisker's sister]

Dawnfire- reddish she-cat with amber eyes

Mousetail- gray-and-white tom with green eyes and a short tail

**Apprentices**

Icepaw- blueish-gray she-cat with pale blue eyes [Mistyfur and Blackwhisker's daughter, Nightkit and Bluekit's sister]

**Queens**

Mistyfur- blueish-gray she-cat with blue eyes, mother of Blackwhisker's kits: Nightkit [black tom with blue eyes], and Bluekit [blueish gray she-cat with blue eyes] [Blackwhisker's mate, and Icepaw's mother]

**Elders**

MarshClan

**Leader:** Toadstar- black-and-white tom [3 lives] [Puddlefur and Sparrowfeather's father]

**Deputy:** Sparrowfeather- brown tom with white patches and pale amber eyes [Toadstar's son, and Puddlefur's brother]

**Medicine Cat:** Pebblestrike- gray tom with amber eyes [Skyfoot's brother]

**Apprentice, Morningshadow**

**Warriors**

Russetpelt- ginger she-cat with green eyes

Skyfoot- dark gray she-cat with pale gray paws [Pebblestrike's sister]

Puddlefur- gray-and-brown she-cat with blue eyes [Toadstar's daughter, and Sparrowfeather's sister]

Volefur- cream tom with dark brown patches and amber eyes [Briarthorn's twin ]

Spiderfur- pale gray tom with black stripes [Morningshadow's brother]

**Apprentice, Lilypaw**

Wolfclaw- dark gray she-cat with amber eyes

Fogstripe- gray-and-white tom with pale blue eyes

**Apprentices**

Morningshadow- pale gray she-cat with black patches, a white muzzle, and blue eyes [Spiderfur's sister]

Lilypaw- small calico she-cat with large green eyes

**Queens**

Briarthorn- cream she-cat with dark brown patches and amber eyes, expecting Sparrowfeather's kits [Volefur's twin]

**Elders**

Weaselfur- dark brown tabby tom

LeafClan

**Leader:** Ivystar- tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes [9 lives]

**Deputy:** Lionstep- golden tom with blue eyes

**Medicine Cat:** Littlefoot- small brown-and-white speckled she-cat

**Warriors**

Whitefoot- black tom with white feet

Sleetpelt- pale gray tom with amber eyes

Softpelt- cream she-cat with green eyes and a fluffy pelt

**Apprentice, Snakepaw**

Shadowflame- black she-cat with amber eyes

Redshade- reddish tom with amber eyes [Amberfrost's mate]

**Apprentice, Silverpaw**

Meadowsong- ginger she-cat with green eyes [Amberfrost's sister]

Owlblaze- brown-and-white tom with white paws, a white muzzle, and amber eyes

**Apprentices**

Snakepaw- dark brown tabby tom with black stripes and amber eyes

Silverpaw- silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes

**Queens**

Amberfrost- ginger she-cat with white patches and amber eyes. Mother of Redshade's kits: Rosekit [reddish she-cat with amber eyes], Foxkit [ginger-and-white tom with amber eyes], and Maplekit [ginger-and-white she-cat with amber eyes] [Redshade's mate, and Meadowsong's sister]

**Elders**

Mudpelt- brown tom with green eyes

**Prologue**

The silver-gray she-cat peered closely into the Seeing Pool. "The end of the Clans is near," she mewed gravely, lifting her head. "If we don't do something soon, the Clans will soon become nothing more than mere memories."

"Well, what do you suggest we do, Silverfur?" A pale golden tom spoke up from the large crowd that surrounded StarClan's only connection to the three living Clans below.

Silverfur shrugged. "Something. Anything. But whatever we do, we must do it quickly. Every second that passes, a cat down there starts to grow weak."

There was a moment of complete silence as the StarClan cats paused to think.

"What about sending some cats out to find a new home for the Clans?" A dainty calico she-cat with dazzling, bright green eyes stepped forward from the large crowd. "I don't want Lilypaw to join me so soon. She deserves a good, long life," she added sadly.

"That's a good idea, Petalfrost," Silverfur mewed approvingly. "All in favor of Petalfrost's idea, say 'Yes'!"

There was a chorus of yeses, and silence from others.

An almost transparent tom curled his lip. "This has always been the Clans' homes. There's no way that they are going to leave."

A pale brown tabby she-cat sitting next to him unsheathed her claws and sunk them into the marshy ground. "Branchwing, quit being so stubborn. If the Clan don't leave, they'll all die!"

"They could join together as one Clan!" Some cat called out.

"There will still be the same amount of mouths to feed though!" The pale brown tabby's green eyes flashed angrily.

"You shouldn't even be here, Leafpaw. Apprentices aren't allowed in the important meetings," a dark brown tabby tom sneered, glaring at the angry apprentice.

"If you didn't notice, Tigerfur, even the kits are here. What else are they supposed to do? StarClan is feeling the effects too, you know. Haven't you seen how skinny we all are? There's barely any prey left in our hunting grounds. And we haven't seen any sunshine in moons!" Leafpaw spat.

Soon the peacefulness of the night was shattered by the StarClan cats arguing amongst themselves.

"Maybe if you opened up your eyes a little, you would notice!"

"No wonder none of us have eaten anything! He's been stealing all of the prey!"

"Stop!" The commanding yowl made all of the cats freeze.

"Erm, hello, Blazestar, Marshstar, and Leafstar. To what do we owe the pleasure of seeing you today?" Silverfur asked awkwardly, shifting her paws nervously.

"Look at you!" Blazestar snarled, ignoring his old medicine cat completely as his amber eyes surveyed the crowd before him.

"Look at what you've become, a bunch of starving, angry cats," Marshstar hissed, green eyes blazing.

"Isn't this enough proof that we need to leave?" Leafstar asked quietly.

"So you're saying we should do as Petalfrost suggested, and send some cats out to find a new home?" Silverfur asked.

"Yes," Marshstar mewed calmly. "That's exactly what we'll do."

**How was that? Good, bad? Let me know in your review! Constructive criticism is welcomed! :)**

**-Stormy**


	2. Chapter 1: Seeing Stars

**Just a quick note before you read: Two reviews. I can't say I'm not disappointed. It only takes two minutes to write a small review with some CC in it, so please, review.**

**Chapter 1: Death, StarClan, and More Death**

**-Dawnfire**

Dawnfire padded into the camp after the rest of the patrol, a single scrawny mouse in her jaws. Her amber eyes were lowered to the ground, and her tail dragged on the dusty ground.

A small black she-cat's eyes lit up and she raced over from where she was pacing in front of the nursery.

"How much prey did you-?" she let out a cry when she saw the motionless body that one of the cats had placed gently on the ground.

"Is that Greenpaw?" The small black she-cat whispered.

Cedarsky nodded slowly. "She was so focused on catching a rabbit that she didn't pay attention and ran across the Thunderpath, right in front of a monster. She didn't stand a chance," Cedarsky mewed sadly, lowering his head to mourn for the lost life.

The rest of the patrol copied what Cedarsky did, and for a moment there was only silence.

Dawnfire didn't dare say what the rest of the cats were probably thinking: one less mouth to feed.

But also, one less cat who can actually hunt and provide us food, Dawnfire thought worriedly.

"Did you manage to catch any prey?" Beetleclaw asked hopefully.

Dawnfire showed her the scrawny mouse that she had caught, and Addertail dropped his thrush on the ground.

The look of disappointment on Beetleclaw's face was evident. "I'll bring the thrush to Mistyfur," she mewed quietly. She grabbed the prey and slowly walked over to the nursery, vanishing inside to give the prey to her brother's mate.

"Who should we give the mouse to?" Dawnfire asked.

"See if Brightcloud wants it," Cedarsky mewed, gently dragging Greenpaw's body into the center of the camp.

"Okay, I'll do that then," Dawnfire mewed, padding slowly over to the medicine den.

The camp was deadly silent. Since the Clan had grown so small, the camp was almost always quiet. Most of the cats slept to keep up their energy, and if they weren't sleeping, they would be out hunting and patrolling the borders.

Dawnfire approached the medicine den. She was about to walk in when she heard Brightcloud talking with someone.

The reddish she-cat peeked into the medicine den, careful to stay out sight. What she saw next shocked her.

Brigthcloud was speaking to a cat that wasn't part of their Clan, or not any cat that she recognized.

"Are you sure, Blazestar?" Brightcloud asked worriedly, her back to Dawnfire. "This has always been the Clans' home."

Blazestar! Peering closer, Dawnfire noticed that there were stars in the tom's fur. StarClan! "Her? But she's not even Clan-born!" Brightcloud was hissing.

Dawnfire leaned even closer.

Blazestar mewed something inaudible, and Brightcloud continued to shake her head.

Dawnfire chose that moment to casually saunter into the medicine den.

Blazestar instantly disappeared, and Brightcloud whipped around, fur up.

"Oh, it's only you," the golden-and-white she-cat mewed softly. She abruptly turned around and went to look at all of her herbs.

"I brought you a mouse," Dawnfire mewed. She wasn't particularly fond of the medicine cat, and Brightcloud didn't seem to like the bright ginger she-cat that much either.

"Just leave it there." Brightcloud didn't even turn around from where she was counting herbs.

"Fine." Dawnfire snorted and dropped the prey on the ground before stalking out of the den. _Stupid cat._

"Dawnfire! We need you on another hunting patrol!" Thornpelt mewed. The deputy's eyes were narrowed as she walked past.

"Yes, Thornpelt," Dawnfire grumbled. She stalked over to where Bramblestripe, Icepaw, and Mousetail were waiting. She then followed the patrol, not looking back at the deserted camp.

**-Thornpelt**

Being deputy was hard for Thornpelt. He had never had an apprentice, and he wasn't very confident and ambitious. He didn't know why Flamestar had chosen him; Addertail would have been a better choice, or maybe even Dawnfire.

Speaking of Dawnfire... The she-cat was stalking out of the medicine den, an annoyed look plastered across her face.

"Dawnfire! We need you on another hunting patrol!" he mewed, eyes narrowed. What had gotten her in such a foul mood?

"Yes, Thornpelt," Dawnfire grumbled.

Thornpelt let out a sigh as he watched the patrol leave the deadly silent camp. He was about to go hunting by himself, when a loud wail reached his ears.

He quickly raced over to the nursery, the origin of the wail.

He pushed through the brambly entrance, and couldn't see what was wrong right away.

Beetleclaw was lying beside her brother's mate, sound asleep. She was obviously so exhausted that she hadn't heard Mistyfur wail. Nightkit was also asleep, curled up near his mother, as well as Bluekit. Mistyfur however, had her eyes closed and grief plastered across her face.

"Mistyfur?" Thornpelt asked slowly, taking a step towards the queen. "What's wrong?"

"S-she's gone," Mistyfur whispered sadly, not opening her eyes.

"Who's gone? Bluekit is fine, she's just sleeping. So is Beetleclaw," Thornpelt mewed, taking another step forward.

"Look closer," Mistyfur spat, opening her eyes to glare at the black-and-white tom.

That was when Thornpelt noticed that Bluekit's flank was still, no quiet breaths coming from her

mouth.

"Oh Mistyfur, I'm so sorry," Thornpelt whispered, unable to keep the sadness from showing in his voice.

"It's my fault," Mistyfur whispered hoarsely, looking down at her paws. "I shouldn't have had kits at a time like this..."

"It's not your fault," Thornpelt mewed softly, trying to comfort her. "Nightkit will still become a warrior, and that will help the Clan greatly."

We do need all of the help that we can get. We already lost five cats in the past moon.

Mistyfur didn't say anything, just licked her dead kit's head one last time, before Thornpelt gently picked up the tiny kit and turned around and shuffled slowly outside.

He quietly walked to the middle of the camp clearing, and gently deposited Bluekit next to Greenpaw's still body.

With nothing else to do for the poor kit, he decided to go see if the giant yellow monster was still where he had seen it last, near the border with LeafClan.

Turning around, he padded away, and left the camp without looking back.

**Sorry, the ending was a bit rushed. I apologize for that. Anyhow, how was that? I'd really appreciate it if you reviewed, and your reviews motivate me to get off of my lazy butt and actually write. SO. Review! :)**

**Have a nice day!**

**-Stormy**


	3. Chapter 2: Dreams

**Chapter 2: Dreams**

**-Fogstripe**

_"Hello, brother." _

_Fogstripe whipped around and unsheathed his claws, momentarily surprised. Upon noticing who it was, he let his fur fall flat._

_Padding through some tall trees with only brittle, dead leaves, came his long-dead older sister, Blazefeather._

_The she-cat's once-bright ginger pelt was now dull and unkempt. She was almost as skinny as Fogstripe himself, and her eyes seemed sunken into her head._

_"Blazefeather! You... you look terrible!" Fogstripe couldn't help gaping at his sister, the cat who was always proud, held her head high, and always seemed to have something snarky to say. _

_Blazefeather managed a small purr. "You always have something nice to say, Fogstripe."_

_"Sorry." Fogstripe shuffled his paws. He looked around, at the clouds that hung low, and the fog that wreathed through the trees, and finally, all of the dead plants. He couldn't see anything green, just brown, brown, and more brown._

_"Where are we? This isn't StarClan. Where is the prey, and the sun?"_

_For the first time, Blazefeather looked defeated. "This _is_ StarClan. We are dying. We are feeling the effects too, you know."_

_Fogstripe blinked. "You are? But I thought prey never ran out in StarClan."_

_Blazefeather rolled her eyes. "We're getting off of topic. I came here with a message."_

_"But why me? Why didn't you talk to the medicine cat?"_

_"Shut up for a moment!" Blazefeather snarled, her thin patience snapping._

_Fogstripe flinched, but closed his mouth._

_"Thank you." Blazefeather sat down and wrapped her plumy tail over her paws. "In two days, you and Lilypaw must meet with four other cats, and discuss your plan of action."_

_"Plan of action? Meet where?"_

_But Blazefeather simply looked at him. "You'll know what to do," she whispered._

_Then she shimmered brightly, so brightly that Fogstripe had to close his eyes and look away or risk being blinded. _

_There was a sighing sound, and when Fogstripe opened his eyes, Blazefeather was gone. _

_He sighed. _What does it all mean?

_Before he could contemplate the rest of what his sister had said, he felt his eyelids starting to droop, and his paws go heavy with exhaustion. _

_His legs gave out, and he crumbled to the ground, entering the waking world._

**-Lilypaw**

Lilypaw sat in her nest in the apprentice's den, in a huff. Her long calico fur was sticking out, due to her violent dream the night before

She could hear Morningshadow outside, boasting about how she now knew every single herb name and its use.

_Please._ Lilypaw snorted to herself. _I could have learned that in a moon!_

Her stomach suddenly growled, jerking Lilypaw from her thoughts. _I should really eat. But I haven't caught any prey recently. _

She sighed as she remembered Toadstar's new rule: Catch some prey and get a single mouthful of another piece.

She rose to her paws stiffly, small pieces of moss falling from her pelt.

Lilypaw yawned and stretched, relieving her aching muscles. She quickly flattened some of her fur to its normal place, and started to pad outside when she slammed straight into another cat.

The other cat, a gray-and-white tom, fell on top of her with a startled cry.

"Sorry, sorry," the tom whispered, rolling off of her and scrambling clumsily to his paws.

Lilypaw's once clean and nice fur was now filled with dust, and her fur was spiked up everywhere.

"Fogstripe!" Lilypaw snapped angrily. "Just look at what you did! My pelt is a mess, thanks to you!" she spat as she groomed her fur back to its rightful place.

"I-I needed to talk to you," Fogstripe mewed quietly, looking at his paws.

"Really? Well, I don't need to talk to you, so goodbye." She rose to her paws, and stalked outside, glaring at the tom as she marched by.

Fogstripe looked up at her. "I know what you're doing."

Lilypaw stopped and whirled around. "What?"

"I-I know your little secret. How you've been-"

"Shut up!" In a flash, Lilypaw was standing in front of the tom, claws unsheathed. "If you tell a single cat, I will kill you!" Lilypaw snarled, green eyes filled with hatred.

"Talk to me and I won't tell a soul," Fogstripe promised.

Lilypaw hissed, but sheathed her claws, and forced her neck fur to lie flat. "Fine. What do you want to talk about?"

"Not here, out in the marsh," Fogstripe mewed triumphantly.

Lilypaw glared at him, wanting to claw his annoying face, but followed him out of the apprentice's den, and into MarshClan's territory.

* * *

The ground was spongy beneath her paws, and she kept sinking down, receiving cold, wet paws. Fogstripe lumbered clumsily in front of her, occasionally tripping over his large paws.

"Where are we going?" Lilypaw asked as she stepped delicately across some rocks

"To the Empty Lands," Fogstripe replied, stepping on a sharp rock with a hiss of pain.

"Why?" Lilypaw asked, a bolt of fear striking through her.

"Because there's nothing there, and no one to interrupt our conversation." Fogstripe paused and looked back at her, as if he was searching for some reaction.

Lilypaw noticed, and made her face as blank as it would go.

Fogstripe shook his head and muttered something inaudible. He scrambled over one final boulder, and then he was standing on the edge of forbidden Empty Lands.

Lilypaw slid down the final rock, and came to a stop beside the older tom.

The fog seemed to be only in the Empty Lands, as if it was a warning to stay away. The air seemed to get colder, and Lilypaw shivered, despite herself.

She watched as Fogstripe swallowed nervously, and stepped onto the sparse moor.

"Come along then," he mewed, flicking his tail back and forth.

Lilypaw purred slyly. "Scared, are you?"

"No!" Fogstripe snapped quickly, looking away.

"Whatever you say," Lilypaw giggled.

Fogstripe snarled angrily. "Let's get going and get this over with." He stomped away, getting swallowed up by the fog almost instantly.

Lilypaw purred to herself and followed the tom.

* * *

The tom cackled to himself as he watched the two cats disappear into the moor.

_This will be fun._

**Sorry, I would have updated sooner, but I was feeling lazy. xD Anyways, how was that? Fogstripe was a bit out of character here; he's supposed to be a clumsy, quiet, loner-like cat, but ah well. And I realized that Wolfclaw is his sister, and I don't want them to be siblings, but I'm stuck with it now. And Blazefeather is around 10 moons older than Fogstripe and Wolfclaw.**

**So… please review. And join my forum, forum/MeadowClan/137374/****_  
_**


End file.
